concerns about my aquarium's condition

[folkride]

I'm at my wit's end here, guys. I have an african cichlid tank with several mbuna cichlids, but I'm having some issues with my 2 melanochromis chipokae. I've got one blue and one yellow, and the yellow one is turning this bluish-brown color - it's really weird. Plus, it's vibrating a lot, especially when my yellow lab is around. The blue one, on the other hand, is just chillin' at the top of the tank, like it's been told to stay away or something. I've also noticed the blue one's color keeps changing - it goes from blue to this grayish color, and its mouth is open more than usual. What's going on with my fish?!?!?

[techy]

Hey folkride, I got a few questions for ya.
What's the size of your tank?
What's the temp in there?
What are your water stats looking like?
How long has the tank been up and running for?
How often do you do water changes, daily, weekly?

[flinta]

Sounds like trouble's brewin'. Can't have similar lookin' fish together, mate. Cheers.

[folkride]

My tank's a 60-gallon, 48 inches wide, 12 1/4 inches deep, and 25 inches high.
Temperature's at 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Water parameters are pH 8.2, zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and 20 ppm nitrate.
I do water changes weekly, about 15 gallons at a time.
The tank was cycled with a small school of danios for 5 1/2 weeks, then fully cycled for another 2 weeks before I introduced the cichlids, so it's been about 3 months now.

[kizumi1]

I'm gonna take a guess here, the blue one's probably the male, not fully mature yet. When there's no clear dominant fish, the female tends to change color, turning more brownish. I've seen this with my own females, the bigger one turns brown and gets all worked up, pretty much advertising herself, while the smaller one seems kinda lost.

[folkride]

I also see that the male is just hovering at the top of the tank and he's not eating, hasn't eaten for like 2 or 3 days now

[kizumi1]

He could be dealing with bloat, not eating for a couple days and just hovering at the top of the tank is pretty suspicious, sounds like a classic case of bloat to me.

[folkride]

He's not fat or big, actually he's slimmer than all the rest, I don't see any visible signs of bloat, but I'm not sure what to look for.

[kizumi1]

I'm not too sure myself, to be honest. Just keep a close eye on him and see how he goes. You might want to consider joining a Malawi cichlid forum, they might have some more specialist knowledge to help you out.

[folkride]

Do you know of any good Malawi forums? I'd really appreciate some specialist help with my melanochromis chipokae, especially with the blue one not eating and just hovering at the top of the tank.